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Blaze burns 5,200-plus acres in Montrose County near Utah

The Sunrise Mine Fire continued to blaze Sunday in Montrose County, consuming more than 5,200 acres of land in its first 48 hours.

The fire sparked about 5 p.m. Friday approximately four miles northwest of Paradox near the Utah line. The fire burned land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service as well as private land. No structures have burned.

The wildfire was about 30 percent contained as of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, according to U.S. Bureau of Land Management Public Affairs Specialist Shannon Borders. The fire’s cause was being investigated, Borders said in a press release.

Seven aircraft, six engines, and crews and personnel from the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit, the Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse, the Paradox Volunteer Fire Department, the Nucla/Naturita Volunteer Fire Department, the Gateway Fire Department, Manti-La Sal National Forest, the Upper Colorado River Fire Management Unit and the states of Colorado and Utah were at the fire scene Sunday. Another team was on its way.

The fire has closed R1, U5 and Buckeye roads, and the Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse evacuated Buckeye Reservoir, Rock Creek and Sinbad Valley on Saturday because of smoke from the fire.